


Reaching Out

by calikocat



Series: Dragon Verse [14]
Category: Angel: the Series, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Diagnosis Murder, Early Edition, Martial Law (TV)
Genre: Dragons, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-13
Updated: 2014-05-13
Packaged: 2018-01-24 15:39:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1610375
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/calikocat/pseuds/calikocat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>After his adventure in Chicago and meeting his first dragon Sammo returned to LA.  When he sees another dragon Sammo bridges the gap and for the first time the Chicago Community is aware that they are not alone.  Also David Hodges' life takes an interesting turn.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reaching Out

**Author's Note:**

> For Early Edition - the episode _‘Play It Again, Sammo’_ is referenced.

Reaching Out  
calikocat  
Word count: 3813

Disclaimer: Martial Law, Early Edition, Angel, and Diagnosis Murder do not belong to me. The Dragon idea is totally TiffanyF's.

XXX

It had been one of the more interesting cases Sammo had ever worked on. It wasn't often the supernatural became involved in police work, at least not in his experience. Maybe things were different in America, he wasn't really aware enough of such stories to know whether or not this was normal.

But this was still a first for him; meeting someone like Gary Hobson, who knew about things before they happened. It must be a gift indeed and a burden, because no matter how hard you tried, some things, some events, could not be stopped. Gary however still tried and it was admirable.

Sammo had stayed longer than he meant to, going out for pizza with Gary after the case was closed and the helmet was in police custody. Gary's friends made him welcome as they had before and celebrated their success at the pub Gary and Marissa owned. When things finally winded down the couple invited Sammo upstairs to talk.

He was curious of course, especially when Gary helped Marissa out onto the roof of their building and motioned Sammo to follow them.

“What is going on?” Sammo finally asked.

Marissa smiled. “Gary said you figured him out.”

“His gift, yes. I did figure it out, it is quite the responsibility.”

Gary rolled his eyes. “Sammo you have no idea...but since you can keep that secret, I've got another I wanted to share.”

“What's that?”

And then Gary's form blurred and was replaced with a white dragon, it was in no way serpentine as dragons of the East were often shown. Instead it was what Sammo imagined dragons of Europe were depicted, a broad body, long tail, four legs and large wings. It had two gleaming horns above its ears and its entire body glowed, shimmered really in the lights of the city.

Marissa was frowning in his direction. “Sammo?”

Sammo finally found his voice. “I thought the dragons were gone.”

Gary changed back and shook his head. “Not quite.”

“Our community is really small though; there's only one other dragon, Benton, and his mate Ray who weren't here tonight, but you met everyone else earlier.”

“I am honored that you shared this secret with me. I will guard it with my life.”

Marissa smiled and Gary nodded, offering his hand. “I know you will, and you're welcome to visit my city any time you want.”

Sammo accepted the hand and they shook. “Thank you.”

 

Upon returning to Los Angeles things were more or less back to normal. He and Louis were partners once more, Terrell and Pei Pei were working well together and Captain Winship would be returning to work soon. Everything was going well in the Major Crimes Division of LA. Then...Sammo met another dragon.

xxx

“You're sure he's gone?” Cordelia asked. “Really gone?”

“Yeah, now come on.” Doyle tried the door knob and the door opened easily. He grimaced however when he saw the dead woman on the bed, just as he'd seen her in his vision when the man had shot her.

Cordelia gasped and looked away from the scene. “Where's the girl?”

Doyle moved further into the motel room so that he was beside the empty bed and crouched down to look underneath it. Before he did he spoke softly, kindly. “Brenna, my name is Doyle. My girlfriend Cordelia and I are here to help. You're safe with us, I promise.” There was a whimper from underneath and he finally lifted the bedspread so he could see her. 

Her blue eyes were wide and her face pale despite the shadows under the bed. Cordelia knelt beside him and gave the girl a smile. “Hey. I'm Cordy. Let’s get you out of there, okay?”

The girl, Brenna, nodded and reached for Cordelia and scrambled out from under the bed. Doyle made sure he was between her and the other bed, trying to block her view of the body that once was her mother. Then he ushered them both toward the door, intent on getting them away from the gore.

Once they were outside though Doyle sensed the presence of someone else and was moving again, shielding them from the gun that was pointed at them all. “LAPD, freeze!” The police, two of them, weren't in uniform which meant they were probably detectives. At least the killer hadn't come back.

Doyle raised his hands. “Easy! We were just getting the girl out of there; she didn't need to see her mother like that.”

The detective with the gun gave them a confused look. “And you just happened on the scene?”

“It’s complicated.” Cordelia tried to explain. “We-”

Then a familiar truck rolled into the parking lot, parked and Steve got out of the cab, his badge in his hand. A black and white pulled in beside his truck and Steve shook his head frowning at them. “I thought I told you two to wait.”

Doyle frowned right back. “Come on now Steve, we couldn't just leave the girl hiding under the bed with her mom...expired in the room. It’s not right.”

When the uniformed officers got out of their car with their guns out Doyle stepped between them and the girls. And he might have flashed his eyes, though he tried not to. The second detective, Asian, though Doyle couldn't tell his nationality focused his attention on Doyle. “Put your guns away.” His voice was heavily accented.

His partner looked at him in concern. “Sammo?”

“Its okay Louis...we should question them later. The girl is in shock.” Then 'Sammo' turned to Steve. “She needs to be examined Detective...?”

“Steve Sloan, from Homicide. What's Major Crimes doing out here?”

Louis lowered his gun and shrugged. “We were in the neighborhood; call came over the radio, shots fired. We responded.”

“Right...you want the scene?”

Louis sighed, clicked the safety on his gun and holstered it. “What I want is answers.” He said, but his partner grasped his arm and shook his head. “But the girl's well being comes first.” He motioned to the uniforms. “Put them away boys and secure the scene. You call in backup?”

The older of the uniforms nodded. “Yes sir.”

“Sammo and I will stay until they get here.” Louis eyed Steve.

“You'll find us at Community General. My father is Head of Internal Medicine there.”

Louis smiled at that. “Oh, you're that Steve Sloan. We'll see you there.”

“Come on you two, get the girl in my truck, one of you is sitting in the back.”

“Good thing you splurged for the king cab huh?” Cordelia muttered as Doyle tugged them toward the truck.

“Very good thing.” Steve nodded at Sammo and Louis. “Thanks.” He followed them to the truck where they were getting Brenna situated in the back with Cordelia.

Sammo followed them and grabbed Steve's arm. “I didn't know there were dragons in LA.”

Steve froze and his eye flicked to Doyle who shrugged. “Oops? In my defense there were guns pointed at Cordy.”

Steve sighed. “I'm the Alpha Dragon of the LA community. How can I help you?”

“I don't need help, I can help you though. We'll see you at the hospital.” He smiled at them warmly and walked back to his partner.

Steve watched him walk for a bit before turning back to them. “Any idea what that was about?”

Doyle shook his head. “Nope...but...about Brenna.”

“We're gonna need a cover story, you can't just say you had a vision.”

Cordelia shrugged. “We were in the area, we heard gunfire, and we called you, our boss the cop.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Better than nothing I suppose. Usually your visions don't lead you toward human crime.”

“Yeah, about that.”

“Doyle.”

“The girl is David's little sister.”

The girl jerked a bit, her eyes managing to get just a bit wider as she gaped at Doyle. Steve groaned and rubbed at his forehead. “And the woman?”

“His birth mother.”

“Great. The woman who sold him into slavery, he won't be able to process any of the trace from this.” He sighed. “Cordy there's a blanket back there if she needs it.”

“Sure.”

Doyle smiled at their Alpha apologetically. “Sorry, I really thought it would be better if we were on the scene first. Considering who she is.”

“Yeah...it was the right call. Still, this is gonna hit the fan in a big way.”

xxx

By the time Louis and Sammo showed up Brenna had been checked out by a doctor and given a clean bill of health and was currently in the break room with Amanda and Cordelia with a female officer standing guard.

Steve met the major crimes detectives at the elevator and led them to his dad's office where Doyle was sitting at the desk, spinning in the chair behind it. He jerked to a stop as they filed in the room, Steve closing the door and looking at him with a raised brow. Doyle shrugged and remained in the chair.

Louis and Sammo settled on the sofa against the wall and Steve leaned against the desk. Louis broke the silence. “Any chance I can get the real story? Sammo here tried to convince me dragons are real.”

“You believe me.” Sammo chided.

“Only because I know you Sammo, and you wouldn't lie to me like that, but dragons?”

Steve let his eyes glow. “Yes Detective Malone. Dragons. I'm the Alpha of the LA Community. Doyle is also a dragon.”

“And half-Brachen demon.”

Louis looked skeptic until Doyle shifted and brought his demon face forward. “Holy crap!”

Doyle shifted back. “Pretty much yeah.”

Louis eyed Sammo. “Dragons huh.”

Sammo nodded and gave his knee a comforting pat. “I thought they were gone, extinct, until last year. You remember when I tracked down that artifact to Chicago?”

His partner nodded. “Yeah, that ancient helmet. There are dragons in Chicago?”

“Yes. The Alpha is called Gary Hobson...and he has a gift like Doyle. He knows things before they happen.”

Louis gave a snort of disbelief. “You're part demon, a dragon...and you have a gift too?”

Doyle nodded slowly. “Sometimes I get visions.”

“See.”

“It’s a little hard to take in Sammo.”

“Not everything can be explained by science.” He looked back to Steve. “I can give you the contact information for the Alpha of Chicago.”

“I'd appreciate it; we didn't know there were any other communities.” The door opened then and Jesse stepped inside. “This is my mate, Doctor Jesse Travis. Jess these are Detectives Louis Malone and Sammo Law.”

Jesse nodded at them. “Nice to meet you. Are we expanding the community?”

“Not sure yet. How are things?”

“I put a rush on the girl's DNA...Amanda won't know anything about the woman until the body gets here. Why did you want the DNA processed so quickly...and so uh...secretively?”

“Because of Doyle's vision.”

“What's going on Steve?”

Steve sighed. “Doyle says the girl, Brenna, is David's sister...the woman is his birth mother...and Brenna reacted to David's name...shocked I think.”

“Oh...geeze when this gets out...David's life at the lab is gonna get real messed up.”

“I know.”

“Who is David?” Louis asked.

“You know him, David Hodges, Trace Analyst at the crime lab?”

Louis smiled a bit. “The snarky one?”

“Yeah.”

“I like him.”

Steve smiled back. “We grew up next door to each other...his adopted mom took him in as a foster kid when he was six. He hasn't seen his birth mother since he was two...” He hesitated. “This part doesn't leave this room.” 

Louis and Sammo shared a look; however, Louis added, “Unless it affects the case.”

“Good enough...when David was two his biological mother sold him to a gang. He was their property until he was four...which was when a bunch of vigilantes killed the gang and freed the slaves. The kids and the women they had taken were sent to various clinics and hospitals. David bounced around the system until he was six when Anna Hodges took him in.”

“Your next door neighbor.”

“Yeah. He's lived next door ever since and he's practically my little brother.”

The door opened again and his dad stepped inside. “Amanda said you were borrowing my office.”

“This is my father, Doctor Mark Sloan. Dad, these two are Detectives from the Major Crimes Unit, Sammo Law and Louis Malone.”

“It’s good to meet you.” Mark walked to them and shook their hands before moving to a chair by the couch. “So, what did I miss?”

“The dead woman from Doyle's vision is David's biological mother.”

“Oh no...Who’s the girl with Cordelia and Amanda?”

“Her daughter.”

Mark's eyes grew wide. “So she's his little sister? Oh this is going to be hard on him...what's going to happen to the girl?”

“If it helps, the man who killed her mother was her mother's pimp...and Brenna's father.” Doyle added.

“This just gets better and better.” Steve sighed. “You two were on the scene first, and the higher ups will claim I'm too close to this case to work it.”

“We'll be as discreet as we can Sloan.”

“I appreciate it.”

“Will this David want to meet the girl?” Sammo asked.

“I don't know; this could drag up some bad memories. He went through hell as a kid.”

Mark waved off the negativity. “I'll talk to him, it'll fine.”

Doyle nodded in agreement. “If he says no, Cordy will bully him into it.”

Jesse shuddered and leaned into Steve. “Let's hope it doesn't come to that. It’s scary when those two are at odds.”

xxx

Hours later after they'd been back to the scene and checked in at the precinct they were ending their night with a couple of beers at Sammo's apartment. Louis was more than glad he'd gotten Sammo a place next door to his own...he wouldn't have far to walk to get home.

They were sitting at the dining table, each with a beer and Chinese takeout...that was nowhere near as good as the traditional fair Sammo could have fixed them if they weren't so wiped. Sammo waited quietly for him to speak while they ate, and finally Louis had to say something.

“Dragons, Sammo?”

“Yes.”

“I know we saw Doyle change into his demon form...but dragons?”

“You know you believe me.”

“Yeah...it’s just going to take a while to process and sink in.”

“Are you upset?”

“Nah. My world view was due for another shake up...and I get why you didn't tell me about Chicago. Something like that would be big news and from what you _did_ tell me about Hobson he's a good guy and doesn't need the whackos that would be after him if people knew dragons were real.”

“No they don't.” Sammo smiled. “You didn't seem surprised...about Sloan and his partner.”

Louis snorted. “Everyone knows about those two.”

“Its not something widely accepted, not even here.”

“The thing is Sammo; Jess Travis operates on a lot of cops who get hurt on the job. He's the best trauma surgeon at Community General, probably in the city. Would you want to piss off the guy cutting bullets out of you?”

Sammo smiled. “Nope.”

“Exactly.”

He took a sip of his beer and Sammo smiled. “So that kind of relationship doesn't bother you?”

“No.”

Sammo's smile got brighter. “Want to go out for dinner tomorrow?”

Louis raised a brow at him and gestured to the food they were eating. “We go out all the time.”

“I could cook instead.”

“You know I'll eat whatever you cook.”

Sammo nodded. “I know. I like that about you. How long will you stay tonight?”

Louis eyed him for a moment. “You going where I think you are with this?”

“Yes.”

Louis laughed and felt his face heat up. “I'll stay as long as you want Sammo, as long as I'm welcome.”

“You'll be welcome for a long time Louis.”

“Good to know.”

xxx

Mark made his way to Trace easily, he was a familiar enough face and had no trouble getting into the building with his Police Consultant ID. It helped that he was listed as David's family and emergency contact as well. He smiled at the techs he recognized, waved at the friendlier faces and slipped into David's lab.

“David.”

“Hey Dad, it's a little late for a social call and I don't think I have anything from one of Steve's cases.”

“I'm here on a more personal matter.”

David sort of froze and his eyes grew wary and cautious. “What happened?”

“Doyle had a vision, one that led him and Cordelia to a deceased woman and her daughter.”

“Okay.”

“Doyle told us who they were, and the DNA test we're doing at the hospital will confirm it, but the woman was your biological mother. The girl is your sister.”

“Is...Present tense. Only the woman is dead.”

“Yes.”

“Did she OD?”

“She was shot David, but Amanda will give us her official results after the autopsy.”

“And the girl?”

“Healthy, unharmed...and nowhere to go. She's at the hospital now with Cordelia.”

David looked down at the samples he'd been working with. “It'll get out.”

“I suppose it will. I'm sorry for the trouble it will cause you. We're running the DNA test ourselves for a quicker result, to give you more time, but the crime lab will want to do their own tests.”

David snorted and gave a small laugh. “Well, I don't really have friends at work anyway.”

“Maybe not in the lab, but some of the detectives like you.”

“Steve is family, that doesn't really count as far as the workplace.”

Mark grinned. “Detective Malone from Major Crimes likes you and Kate Lockley.”

David managed to smile. “Thanks...so...”

“Captain Winship of Major Crimes has been briefed and says she can go home with you...Steve did have to fill him in on your history, as far as your connection to this case.”

“What's her name?”

“Brenna.”

“Pretty...anything else I should know?”

“Apparently there's a Community in Chicago.”

David blinked. “You know what, let me put this away and you can tell me everything on the way to the hospital. I'm assuming Jesse dropped you off or something.”

“You guessed right. I'll wait in the hall.”

“Thanks for coming down here...”

“No problem Davey.”

xxx

David stared at the girl sitting on the couch in the break room, fast asleep between Cordelia and Doyle. Her hair was brown like his and in two braids...she looked all of thirteen.

“Do you know anything else?” He asked in a whisper, not wanting to wake any of them.

Mark nodded. “Her mother...your mother's name was Deborah McIntyre-”

David snorted. “My mother's name is Anna Hodges.”

Mark smiled. “Alright. Brenna hid under a bed when a man, presumably Deborah's pimp, beat her and shot her, resulting in her death.”

“Amanda is doing the autopsy?”

“She is.”

“Then that's enough, I stopped caring about the woman a long time ago. I don't owe her anything.”

Brenna twitched and her eyes opened. They were the same blue as David's. “Who are you?”

He knelt in front of her. “David Hodges.”

She swallowed. “You're the one?”

“Depends.”

“The one she sold.”

“Yeah.”

“She wanted to tell you she was sorry...”

“Is that why she was in LA?”

Brenna shook her head and her eyes watered. “She wanted you to take me...so he wouldn't bring me into the family business. She wanted me safe.”

“Doesn't mean I forgive her kid.”

“You don't have too. She didn't like men, or boys...or me really...she was tired and just wanted me out before she gave up.”

“There will be a lot of legal work...”

“I can testify or whatever. I know his face, his voice, he's...our...” Brenna swallowed again. “Our old man. You know.”

“I get it.”

She nodded and then sort of eyed Mark. “So...dragons are real?”

“Yeah. A lot of things are.”

“I know. She had a few regular clients that weren't human.” Brenna seemed to steel herself and looked him in the eye. “Now what?”

“I can take you home. Introduce you to my mom...this is Doctor Mark Sloan...he's pretty much like a dad to me. He and his son Steve live next door with Steve's lover Jesse and their son Adam...Adam is a little younger than you I think.”

“Anything has gotta be better than where I was.”

David grinned. “I know the feeling kid.”

xxx

Gary hung up the phone, face thoughtful, and nearly tripped over Patrick who was restocking the bar before they opened for lunch. Marissa made a worried expression in his direction. “Gary?”

“That was Sammo.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah...he just wanted to tell me that the Alpha Dragon of LA wants to meet us.”

“More dragons? That is so cool boss!”

“Yeah.”

“We going?” Marissa asked.

“I'll think about it.”

“You know Fraser and Ray can take care of the paper for a few days.”

He snorted. “Unless it follows me to LA.”

“That's always a possibility...but don't you think it would be good to meet other communities? I like the idea of us not being the only one.”

“Yeah...I'll talk to the guys when they get here. Maybe the LA Alpha and I can compare notes on trouble magnets.”

“You're talking about Fraser and Ray right?”

“Yes Patrick.”

“Cool.”

Gary rolled his eyes and looked back to his paper, his eyes widened. “Crap.”

“Busy day?”

“Something like that.” He threw on his coat, kissed Marissa goodbye and was out the door before anyone else could say anything.

“Think he'll be back for lunch?”

Marissa smiled. “We should have something ready just in case.”

XXX


End file.
